Wheat Growers Expressing Frustrations With Federal Government

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association (WCWGA) is expressing a number of frustrations with the federal government.

President Gunter Jochum says a big concern is the carbon tax.

"Now with this pandemic hanging over us, what does the government do? Not only do they hang on to that, they increase it by another 50 per cent. How is that helpful for the farm sector? It's not. The environment overall, farmers aren't polluters, we're actually at the forefront of saving the environment."

Another issue for the organization is international trade.

"It started with India about four years ago on pulses and it's still not resolved," said Jochum. "Why is the government not working harder in resolving those problems. China, a couple years ago. Italy with durum. There's scores of examples."

Business Risk Management Programs was also another concern.

"We have AgriInvest and AgriStability. Farmers are tired of those programs because they just don't seem to work," commented Jochum. "Especially AgriStability. It's a program that doesn't have a lot of farmers signing up, maybe only about 30 per cent of the farmers have signed up out west here and even if some farmers do qualify for a payout through AgriStability, it can take up to 18 months before we see the money."

Other concerns for the group include crop insurance, transportation, and cell phone/Internet service.

WCWGA says that many of the concerns they have existed long before COVID-19.

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